A Kiss of Revenge (Entangled Ignite) by Natalie Damschroder Read Free Book Online

sat with him, none of the staff bothered them. The machine at his bedside beeped with reassuring regularity, displaying acceptable vital signs. She fixed the pillow when it started to unroll and held Brian’s hand, talking about the bakery and bringing him up to date on the Alpha Corporation discovery. She watched his eyes when she mentioned it, but as with every other moment she’d spent with him, he gave no sign he heard her.
    But that didn’t mean he didn’t. “I’m getting closer,” she told him. “But he’s buried his existence. No closure for us yet.” She snagged a tissue and wiped the drool from his slack mouth. “Closure. Nice word. I’ve had a lot of it in my life.” She rested her elbows on her knees. “Every change has been final. Abrupt, but that just defined the parts. The Joey part. The Erik part. The Chris part.” She exhaled, trying to release the rage churning inside her at the limbo her life was in now. “The Brian part doesn’t look like it’s going to end any time soon.”
    “That’s good,” a woman said from the doorway. “We encourage families to talk to their loved ones.”
    Annoyance sparked in Reese as she turned. “I know. I’ve been coming here a long time.”
    She’d never met the woman leaning on the doorjamb, though she wore a white coat and carried a clipboard. Gold wire-frame glasses matched hair pulled back into a loose knot. She smiled warmly, but her gaze belonged to someone with a goal and a plan to achieve it.
    “Sorry,” she said. “I’m new here.” She stepped into the room, holding out her hand. “Dr. Langstrom. I’ve taken over Brian’s care.”
    Reese stood and shook her hand. She’d known Dr. Mitchell was retiring but hadn’t realized they’d replaced him. “Reese Templeton.”
    Dr. Langstrom nodded and consulted her clipboard. “Not Treget?”
    “I kept my name when we married.” She hadn’t changed it since Erik died, tired of the paperwork.
    “I see. I was hoping you’d be visiting this week. I’d like to talk to you about some new treatments.” Animation lit her face, but Reese was confused.
    “Treatments?” Brian was a vegetable. There was no hope of recovery.
    But apparently no one had informed Dr. Langstrom. “I’ve looked at his records and done some analyses of his condition.” She folded the chart into her arms across her chest and leaned against the table. “Actually, Brian’s the reason I came here. There’s an experimental surgery being performed in Germany. The surgeon has been looking for candidates in the U.S., and surgeons to train. It deals with stimulator implantation…”
    She explained the procedure, but Reese barely heard it; all she could do was stare. Her world had irrevocably shifted in those three seconds.
    “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me.”
    Dr. Langstrom stopped talking and looked as surprised as Reese at her words, but she couldn’t stop them. “I’ve been waiting for a year for him to die. Even if you can restore some function, he’ll never be the man he was. I don’t want that for him!” The hair on her arms prickled, then the tiny hairs on her scalp. Tingles raced over her skin. Damn it! Her emotional upheaval was affecting her physical control. The hospital room was full of electrical equipment, far more important and expensive than the switch on her coffee maker. Monitors, lights, the bed—the low hum of the equipment rose. Her heartbeat and breathing increased, and panic crept in, feeding the surge. Electricity seeped out of its confines, seeking her body, and she wouldn’t be able to contain it. Both Brian and Dr. Langstrom were in danger.
    Without another word she ran from the room, all the way out to her car. She felt like a charged balloon as she ran, her hair flying behind her, her clothes clinging, and more and more electricity trying to get to her.
    She reached for the car door handle, which wirelessly connected to the key fob in her pocket. Electricity arced